Desperately Alone
by Tisha
Summary: Usagi is worried when she becomes pregnant, but that becomes the least of her problems when she learns the horrible truth about what a new enemy has done.
1. Chapter 1

Desperately Alone

By Tisha

Rated PG-13

Setting: Soon after the end of the series.

Usagi took a deep breath and paced back and forth, breathing heavily and wringing her hands together. She glanced up every few seconds to see if Rei was coming yet. It seemed like she'd been waiting forever but in reality it was probably only a few minutes. She just felt so completely helpless and like her life was utterly out of control. She needed to talk to someone, *anyone*, and for some reason she had thought of Rei first. Finally she saw Rei coming and she turned to her, nervously biting her lip.

"Usagi-chan, what is all this urgency about? You sounded funny on the phone."

Usagi nodded and sat on a nearby park bench, waiting for Rei to do so as well. She took another very deep breath to calm herself before spilling out what was bothering her. "Rei, I'm pregnant."

Rei looked at her a second. "Wow. Well are you sure? When did this happen?"

Usagi had to keep herself from getting aggravated by the questions. "Well I'm pretty sure. I've been feeling weird lately and I took two pregnancy tests and they were both positive."

"Usagi, I just thought you'd be more responsible than this. I mean all these years you've probably been so cautious, did you just slip once or what?"

Usagi looked confused for a second before realizing what she meant. "Rei-chan it was the first time. I know it was stupid to not use any protection but it was just very sudden."

Rei's cheeks reddened a little bit. "Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I just kind of assumed." She sighed and looked seriously at Usagi. "I think you need to tell Mamoru."

"I know that, but I'm a little afraid. I'm more afraid of my dad though." Usagi sighed and rested her face in her hands. "How'd I let this happen, Rei? Everything is going to get so complicated now."

Rei smiled and put a supportive hand on her friend's arm. "It'll work out. You two love each other and you're destined to be together anyway. It's just going to be a little sooner than you planned. As for your dad, at least you have lots of other places to turn for support. We'll all be here for you."

Usagi smiled. "Thanks. I guess I knew that. I'm just so nervous." She stood up and tried to build up her will. "I think I'll go now and tell Mamoru. I'm sure he'll be great about it. He'll have all the answers."

Rei smiled. "I hope so. Good luck." With that the two friends parted and went separate directions. Usagi couldn't understand why she was so nervous. She'd never been nervous about Mamoru before. This was going to be a lot harder than she would have ever imagined.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi found that she was incredibly nervous as soon as she was in sight of Mamoru's door. She took a few deep breaths before knocking softly. She waited a minute and heard nothing so she tried again, knocking harder. Usagi sighed. "Of course, he's not home." The thought of having to wait even longer to tell him was horrible but it was her only option so she slowly headed home, thinking about being pregnant and having a baby and also about whether they'd get married before or after the baby was born. Suddenly she got an idea.

Maybe if she and Mamoru could quickly elope she could just pretend that she got pregnant after they were married. Sure her parents would be mad about her getting eloped but not as mad as they'd be about her being pregnant and unmarried. With thoughts forming in her head she arrived home and headed straight to her room. She wanted to avoid her parents because she suddenly felt very awkward around them. She called Mamoru and left him a message, simply saying that she wanted to see him. With her new plan in mind she went to bed, hoping to talk to Mamoru the next day.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi tried him again first thing in the morning but there was still no answer. With way too much on her mind she had to head off to school. It was torture to sit through all of her classes and she was awkward around her friends because she didn't want to tell them yet. School finally ended and she wanted to head to Mamoru's apartment but Minako begged her to go to the arcade with them so she agreed.

Rei met them there and asked to see Usagi alone. Usagi looked at Ami, Minako, and Makoto but they weren't paying much attention to it so Usagi followed her off to the side a bit.

"Well? What happened with Mamoru?"

"He wasn't home. I wanted to go see him today but I'm here instead."

"Oh, have you told the others yet?"

"No, I want to tell Mamoru first." Rei agreed and with that they went back to the rest of the girls and Usagi tried to ignore all the thoughts in her head, although it was very hard to do.

•••••••••••••••••••

A week later Usagi had been to Mamoru's apartment every day and called him at least three times a day and she still hadn't talked to him once. All of her friends now knew that she was pregnant but she tried to avoid questions about Mamoru. She was getting terrified now not only about her parents' reactions but also about Mamoru and why she couldn't find him. She was already two months pregnant and she'd have to tell her parents before she started showing. But she didn't want to tell her parents until she told Mamoru.

A knock on the door forced her from her thoughts and she sighed. "Come in." It was Rei. "Rei-chan, what are you doing here?"

Rei came and sat next to her on her bed. "Every time I ask you about Mamoru you find a way to change the subject. Did he react badly? I want to know, Usagi. You shouldn't be alone at a time like this."

Usagi bit her lip. She really was dying for someone to confide in. "Well, all right, I'll tell you. I haven't seen him. I left him a message a week ago but ever since then when I call no one answers and when I go there he's not home. I'm getting worried about him Rei."

Rei looked at the floor for a minute. She couldn't help but be concerned for her friend. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Usagi had to think for a minute. "Well I don't know, I talked to him on the phone about two weeks ago. He said he had lots of tests so he was always studying. Maybe that's it. Maybe he just never answers because he's busy studying." She thought about that for a minute. "No, that couldn't be because he still wouldn't ignore my message. Rei, what if something has happened to him? Something enemy-wise I mean."

Rei sighed and Usagi caught the fact that she wasn't making eye contact. "What, Rei, what is it?"

"You said you talked to him on the phone two weeks ago right? Well when was it that you slept together? Have you ever seen him since then, except for him to make excuses over the phone?"

Usagi stood up in anger. "How dare you imply something like that about Mamo-chan? He loves me! He has been busy the last month but this week is different. Something has happened to him and I really don't care if you help me or not but I am going to find him!"

Rei stood up. "Usagi-chan, please don't do anything dangerous-"

"Will you please leave?"

Rei looked at her for a second with concern before silently nodding and leaving the room. Usagi shut the door behind her and then collapsed onto her bed in a torrent of tears. She knew Mamoru would never purposely hurt her like this but still it did seem like his behavior had been a little strange. She was still determined to find out where he was.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi knocked on Ami's door and waited impatiently. Rei didn't believe her and wouldn't help her but maybe Ami would.

"Usagi-chan." Ami stated, sounding kind of surprised to see her.

"Are you busy?" Usagi poked her head in to make sure Ami didn't have company, specifically Rei.

"I was just studying. Come on in."

Usagi came in and wasted no time. "Ami, I know something has happened to Mamo-chan and I want you to help me find him."

Ami tilted her head sympathetically. "I'm so sorry Usagi-chan, I'd really like to believe that Mamoru isn't doing this to you but I've already tried scanning for evil and found nothing."

Usagi couldn't hold the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"Usagi, please don't cry. We'll all be here for you. Maybe Mamoru just needs time to sort things out, you know, maybe it'll all be fine. There's still hope."

Usagi shook her head angrily as tears continued to streak down her face. "I thought of all people you might be on my side. How come no one will believe me? Why do you all think so badly about Mamo-chan?"

"Usagi, I...I'm sorry but there isn't evil around."

Usagi turned and let herself out. She quickly walked her way to Mamoru's apartment building. She knocked desperately on the door and like usual there was no answer. She glanced up and down the hall and saw that no one was around. She noticed an emergency ax nearby and she determinedly grabbed it and started hacking away at the door. She got it opened and quickly went inside, hoping no one was home in the nearby apartments to call the police.

She glanced around the dark apartment and saw nothing out of the ordinary. A blinking light caught her eye and she realized that it was his answering machine. There were 12 messages on it. She pressed play.

"Chiba-san, it is unacceptable to miss an entire week if you want to pass your classes. You'd better show up on Monday or your scholarship will be in serious trouble."

"Mamoru, this is Motoki. Why'd you blow me off yesterday? We were going to see a movie, remember? Call me back. You'd better have a good excuse."

The messages went on and on. He hadn't checked his messages or showed up for anything in the last two months. Her message was on there too, and he'd never heard it. Once she told this to Rei and the others they'd have to believe her. But if she didn't go home she'd be late for dinner. With a sigh she headed home, planning to talk to her friends the next day.

To be continued...

In part 2... Usagi is now convinced that Mamoru is missing...until she gets a call from him that confirms her friends' suspicions and alerts her parents of her condition.


	2. Chapter 2

Desperately Alone

Part 2

By Tisha

Usagi came into the house, took off her shoes and went into the kitchen to check if dinner was ready. Her mom was just setting the table so she decided to help her. "Usagi, there you are. You've been gone all day. Where've you been?"

"I was just shopping with the girls." She decided not to look up to make sure her mom believed her, so she continued laying out the silverware.

"Well do you have homework?"

"I finished it" She lied. She didn't feel like doing something as trivial as homework at a time like this.

The table was now set and her mom called everyone in. Usagi found it incredibly hard to sit at the table and act normal when there was so much going on. She avoided looking at anyone and made it a point to say a comment or two when they were discussing something. The phone rang, which startled her. They didn't usually get many calls, especially during dinnertime. No one paid attention to it. The answering machine clicked on and Usagi was startled for a second time when she heard Mamoru's voice. She dropped her fork and listened carefully, but she also noticed that everyone else was listening carefully as well.

"Hi this is Mamoru. Usagi, I want you to stop bothering me. We both know that I'm not the father of your baby. And why'd you have to go and break my door down?"

Usagi's family was all staring at her with amazed expressions but she didn't even notice. Tears sprang to her eyes and she quickly stood up and ran to her room. His words played over and over in her head. She knew his voice, and that was it. But he'd never say such a thing. Not in a million years. He had tons of backed up messages on his machine. He obviously hadn't been there in a couple of months. She was still sure that something had happened to him. In fact she was now even more convinced.

There was a knock at the door and all at once she realized that her parents knew she was pregnant. They'd even heard Mamoru deny that he was the father. What on earth would she say? How could she explain this? She couldn't even think straight at all right now. Taking a deep breath, she went to the door. It was her mom. "Usagi-chan, what was that all about? You're not pregnant are you?"

Usagi tried to think up some story or something but she quickly realized it wasn't even worth it. She was too busy worrying about Mamoru to have to worry about her parents as well. She sighed deeply. "Yes I am."

"How did you let this happen Usagi? And what was that all about? How many people have you slept with?"

"Only one mom. Mamoru's the father."

"Well you sure chose a bad boyfriend if he's going to deny that. What are you planning to do with your life Usagi? How do you plan to pay for a baby?"

Usagi couldn't help but break into tears again. This was all so frustrating. "I plan to marry Mamoru and he'll easily support both the baby and me. You don't understand and you wouldn't believe anything I can tell you so just please leave me alone."

Usagi's mom rolled her eyes. "You need to stop living in denial Usagi. This is serious." With that she did as she had been asked and left. Usagi shut the door and looked at a picture of Mamoru. "Where are you Mamo-chan? What's happened to you?" She suddenly noticed Luna in the room. "Luna, why doesn't anybody believe me? Don't you believe me?"

"Well, I really, really, wanted to believe you until I heard that message. I'm afraid it's turned out that Mamoru is not so great."

Usagi shook her head. "No, I went to his apartment. He hadn't checked his messages in two weeks. He's been kicked out of school. He hasn't even kept his plans with Motoki recently. I've known him for over two years Luna. I know that he loves me. I know that he's serious about school. I know he'd never do anything like this. I just wish all of you knew me well enough to believe me in this."

Luna was speechless. How could she argue? All these years she had thought Mamoru was a nice guy. It didn't make sense to her either than his behavior would change this way. But there was just too much proof saying that Mamoru was just a jerk. Usagi was obviously just blinded by her love. She'd have to get over it eventually. So Luna decided not to say anything else and she just stayed out of Usagi's way instead.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi woke up like normal and then the strange sense of dread set in as she realized how screwed up her life was. She glanced at her clock. School started in fifteen minutes. "Luna, why didn't you wake me up?" She waited for an answer but heard none. She looked around and realized that Luna was gone. Figuring that she wouldn't make it to school anyway, she decided not to go. So she headed downstairs for breakfast, hoping that her dad had already left.

Her mom was sitting at the table but her dad and brother weren't around. She poured herself some cereal and sat down. She glanced at her mom and realized that she was staring at her. "Aren't you late for school?"

Usagi looked down at her cereal and took a bite. "I'm not gonna go. I need to find my boyfriend." Usagi waited and didn't get a reply so she looked up. Her mom was still carefully studying her.

"Usagi, please tell me what this is all about. You aren't acting normal. I just can't figure you out. Your father is outraged, and I don't know how to explain it to him because I don't understand myself."

Usagi thought for a second and then came to a conclusion about what she'd say. Somehow she no longer cared for keeping her secret. It seemed so trivial. "Do you want me to tell you the truth, which is a very long complicated story you probably wouldn't believe, or do you want a nice little lie that'll make more sense and be more normal?"

Ikuko stared at her. "I want the truth, Usagi."

Usagi sighed and took another breath, preparing herself for telling her the whole truth. "All right, I'll tell you. I swear this is the truth even if you don't believe me. Remember all the times in the last two years that I've been out late and there were just things that didn't make sense all the time?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well two years ago was when I met Luna, my cat- who talks by the way. She told me that I was Sailor Moon. And I soon met Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus- who are Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako. And then there's Mamo-chan. He's Tuxedo Kamen. We were meant to be together ever since our last lives on the moon kingdom. We've even been to our future. We know we'll be married and I'll be the queen and he'll be the king and we'll have a daughter. You've even met her. She stayed with us a while, but you don't remember that because her spell wore off when she left.

"I've even only slept with Mamoru once and now I guess I'm pregnant with Chibi-Usa but Mamoru is gone. That wasn't him on the machine, I just know it. He's been gone for two months. Something has happened to him but no one believes me." She looked at her mom, who had continually had a blank look on her face the whole time.

Ikuko stood up. "Usagi, cut the crap. You're going to be a mother. You need to grow up and face reality. Making up this little dream world isn't going to help anything." With that she left the room.

"I guess no one believes me anymore." She said out loud into the empty room.

•••••••••••••••••••

"You mean it was Mamoru on the machine and Usagi still won't accept it?" Makoto asked Luna at their meeting after school that day.

Luna nodded. "She's way out of it. She's not even bothering to deny anything to her parents. I'm getting very worried about her. She shouldn't be living in this dream world, especially while she's pregnant."

"Well what do we do? I do feel like an enemy for not at least trying to believe her, but why would someone even want Mamoru?" Minako asked.

"Right. We haven't had any trouble since Galaxia. If there was an enemy they'd do more than take Mamoru, right?" Rei added. She looked over at Ami who was just typing on her computer. "Ami, what are you doing?"

"I'm just running the scenarios. I really do want to believe her."

They all fell silent and then a sound came over their communicators. It was Usagi. "Hey guys! Just wanted to tell you that Mamoru called me! He's going to straighten everything out. I'm going to meet him right now. See, I knew you were wrong!" And then she cut out. They were all quiet again.

Makoto shrugged. "Maybe he realized how rude he's been."

Rei nodded. "I guess it's a good thing so Usagi could stop seeing us as enemies."

The small group fell silent once again until Ami's computer made a beeping sound and they all turned to her. She suddenly turned ghostly white. "What is it Ami?"

"I, the computer, it found a possibility. I wasn't finding anything, but then I added Usagi's pregnancy into the scenario. An enemy might not attack us and simply kidnap both Usagi and Mamoru so that it can have access to their child, who'll have great powers in the future. Like when Chibi-Usa was turned into Black Lady."

They all looked at each other before Ami calmly beeped into her communicator and called for Usagi. There was no answer. She hadn't even told them where she was going. Everyone was suddenly very somber. Rei stood up and stomped her foot. "Damn it, she was probably right the whole time. She's running right into a trap."

Everyone fell silent once again as they were all consumed with their own thoughts and fears. Minako bit her lip and suddenly had an idea. "Ami, can't you use fingerprints to find enemies? If the enemy was in Mamoru's apartment to call Usagi and if he knew she broke the door down maybe there's some evidence that we could get to find out who he was."

Ami thought about it and slowly nodded. "I think that might work. But we may be jumping to conclusions. We're not even sure anything's happened to Usagi. She might just be meeting Mamoru."

"Then wouldn't she answer her communicator?"

Luna nodded. "Yes, I think she would. You girls go to Mamoru's apartment and look for the evidence. I'm going home to see if Usagi shows up. If she's not home by eleven I'll call you." Everyone agreed and separated, all feeling bad for not giving Usagi or Mamoru a chance.

•••••••••••••••••••

Luna stayed in Usagi's room from four to eleven, and there was no sign of her. At eleven her mom came in and looked around. "Where is that girl?" She asked herself. She then stared strangely at Luna before saying "Luna?" They both looked at each other for a minute before Ikuko shook her head and laughed. "Now I'm talking to cats. I can't believe I almost bought that story." She sighed and left the room. Luna went to the communicator and called all the senshi. "Usagi hasn't come home or called. Did you get any evidence?"

"I did find three different sets of fingerprints. Two of them being Usagi and Mamoru. I need to work on the others, but I should find it eventually." Ami's voice came over the line.

Rei clicked on after her. "Hopefully 'eventually' won't be too late. Why'd we let her go anywhere alone in her condition?"

"Usagi's parents are probably going to call the police soon. I think we might need to tell them."

"Luna, are you sure?" Minako asked.

Luna sighed. "From what I just heard I think Usagi must've already told her mother everything, but she didn't quite believe it. I'm sure it'll be different if all four of you back her story up though. It's probably best if the police don't get involved because there'd be no explanation to give them when we do get her back."

"Sounds logical to me."

"Good. Can all of you get out of the house and make it over here now?"

"Right now?"

"Soon it'll be too late. It's now or never."

"All right, I'm on my way."

"Okay, I'll be there."

"Ten minutes."

"I hope this doesn't take too long. I really need to work on these fingerprints."

"See you girls soon." Luna cut off her transmission, got the door open, and headed downstairs. Her parents were in the living room, talking about Usagi as if she were a rebel. It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door and all four remaining inner senshi stood outside. Ikuko and Kenji seemed rather surprised but Rei told them they knew where Usagi was so they let them all in.

"This'll probably sound crazy," Minako started "but Usagi is Sailor Moon."

Ikuko covered her mouth with both of her hands. "It's true? Oh my gosh, what happened to her?"

"We think that someone's been impersonating Mamoru to kidnap the both of them. He wants her baby."

"But why?"

"Because she'll be very powerful." Ami stated simply.

Kenji, who had remained silent so far, finally spoke up. "Ikuko, are you telling me you believe that our daughter is Sailor Moon?"

Ikuko nodded and looked at the girls. "She told me all of this earlier. She said it was the truth and I probably wouldn't believe her and I didn't. But it's true." She looked at Luna. "Do you talk?"

Luna had never spoken to anyone outside of the senshi before so she stayed quiet for a moment before finally saying. "Yes I do."

Kenji's eyes went wide in amazement. "Well what are we supposed to do to get her back?"

"We're working on some fingerprints we found in Mamoru's apartment. Hopefully it'll lead us to them."

"Well how long will that take?" Ikuko sounded very worried.

Everyone looked at Ami who sighed in disappointment. "It could be a week or it could be months."

The room became silent and after a while Luna said. "It's late. I think I'll go home with Ami. I can help her out and it would be strange here without Usagi."

Everyone agreed and went on their ways. Usagi's parents just had to put all of their faith in Usagi's four best friends, who they'd just learned were also the sailor senshi.

To be continued...

In the next part: Usagi finds out the truth about Mamoru, but she also finds out a much more horrible truth that she would never have wanted to know.


	3. Chapter 3

Desperately Alone

Part 3

By Tisha

Usagi woke up and immediately felt that her head was throbbing. She found herself lying on the floor in a tiny, unfurnished room. All she remembered was that she went to meet Mamoru and he hadn't shown up. Now she was suddenly is some strange place. She went to the door and started banging. She couldn't even believe this was happening but her only hope was that just maybe this was where Mamoru was as well. At least she'd be able to see him. Like magic, the door was opened and Mamoru stood just outside. "Mamo-chan!"

He laughed and Usagi stopped herself from hugging him when he suddenly started to glow. She watched as he became another person altogether. A man who was shorter than Mamoru, but much more muscular. He grabbed her arm and easily dragged her out of that room and into another one where he dropped her on the floor. "Who are you and how did you look like Mamo-chan?"

"My name is Koeda. I know you want to know why you're here so I'll cut to the chase. Since the time I was a little boy all sorts of magical powers interested me. Everyone told me they didn't exist but I was always convinced, and I've proved myself right. Over the years I've managed to perform many experiments and have adapted many powers of my own. One of them happens to be the power to change myself into another appearance. All I need is the specimen I want to become."

Usagi gritted her teeth. "You have Mamo-chan."

He nodded simply. "Yes I do. How else would I look like him?"

Usagi shook her head. "I don't understand. Why do you want to look like Mamo-chan, and what am I doing here?"

He laughed again, a very loud laugh that annoyed Usagi very much. "You are very dense. Or maybe you're just very naive." He shrugged and walked over to a wall, opened a panel that Usagi hadn't noticed, and pressed a button. The whole wall slowly rolled into itself to expose another room. In that room sat Mamoru in a strange looking cage. Usagi ran to him. "Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru looked a bit disoriented but when he saw Usagi many different emotions flashed over his features. "Usako."

Usagi reached through the cage to hold his hand and turned back to Koeda. "Are you going to answer me or not?"

He rolled his eyes. "All right. Well, I've been studying the moon kingdom for years. Now I knew that I wanted power as great as yours but I couldn't figure out exactly how to get it until it just came to me like one of those little light bulbs in cartoons. Each generation your power grows greater and greater, so therefore your child will be much more powerful than you. You see, the procedure would have been rather impossible to do on an adult like you because you'd be sure to die at the first injection."

"Injection?" Usagi interrupted him, starting to feel very nervous about what he was explaining, but still very confused.

"Yes, I have to make several injections so that eventually I'll be able to completely suck all of your- or in this case your baby's- power. Anyway, as I was saying before I was interrupted, a baby is the perfect way to go about it because it's already protected by its mother, and as soon as it's born it'll still be weak enough to easily drain it's power."

"You're doing no such thing to my baby!" In her anger and fear Usagi released Mamoru's hand to move closer to Koeda.

"Baby?"

Usagi turned around to look at Mamoru and she suddenly realized that he had disappeared before she'd been able to tell him. She returned to him and slowly nodded. "I'm pregnant." Mamoru looked utterly shocked as he stared at her before realization slowly set in. "You bastard" he yelled at Koeda as he started wrestling with the bars of the cage violently. Usagi just stood watching him, confused. Koeda laughed at the whole scene and Usagi looked at him.

He smiled at her. "Still don't get it? I took Mamoru over two months ago dear. Sure the child may have been more powerful if it was truly both of yours but that wasn't going to happen for a while so I had to do it my way."

Usagi shook her head in disbelief and tears sprang to her eyes. She turned back to Mamoru. "Mamo-chan, I didn't know. Honestly." She whipped back around to look at Koeda. "And I don't care anyway. You are *not* going to do anything to my baby." With that statement she collapsed to her knees, her body racking with her sobs. It was all too much for her. She had lost her virginity to some creep who wanted to kill her baby just to become powerful. She had so much she wanted to ask and say but she couldn't control herself anymore, she was just crying too hard. She could hear Mamoru trying to comfort her as well as Koeda's laughter every once in a while, but she just continued to cry. Eventually Koeda lifted her off of the floor and dragged her back to a room, although not the same room as before, and left her alone.

•••••••••••••••••••

Mamoru's emotions were raging through him after watching Usagi be dragged from the room. He couldn't believe that they were in such a terrible situation and he couldn't figure out a single thing he could do about it. For two months he had sat alone in his cage and wondered what might be happening to Usagi because of his disappearance. He had known it every single time Koeda had used his appearance because it hurt him severely. The longer Koeda would "be" him the more painful it would become. But he hadn't had any idea what Koeda had been doing during that time. Koeda came back into the room and Mamoru scowled at him.

"You're ruining your own plan you know." Mamoru told him, trying to keep his voice even.

"What are you talking about?" Koeda sent him a dangerously annoyed look.

"I'm studying to be a doctor. I know that stressing her out in any way is bad for the baby."

Koeda shrugged and started writing something down. "What do I care? The baby's not going to live anyway."

"But if you continue this it'll probably cause her to have a miscarriage. Then you won't even have your little test subject anymore."

He had seemed to get Koeda's attention. "Why are you telling me this? How can I keep her from getting stressed? I *did* kidnap her after all."

"Let me see her. And not through this stupid cage either. I can comfort her. It won't hurt you any to let us have a little bit of time together every day." He waited impatiently while Koeda seemed to think it over.

Finally, he grunted. "Oh, very well." He grabbed a key from his pocket and opened the cage and then reached into his pocket and pulled out another key. He handed it to Mamoru and pointed to the room's exit. "Turn left, first door on the right. You have ten minutes. Don't you dare try to escape or I'll kill her."

•••••••••••••••••••

There was a knock on the door but Usagi ignored it, continuing to cry onto the bed. She heard the sound of a key unlocking the door but she still paid no attention to it, instead she just focused on her dilemma. Finally, after she heard the door open, she looked up and wiped at her eyes. It was Mamoru, but she wasn't sure whether it was really Mamoru or just Koeda pretending to be him again. She just curled herself up and looked at him, still sniffling.

"Usako."

Usagi frowned and bit her lip. "Is it really you?"

Mamoru smiled sadly and sat next to her. "Yeah, but I only have ten minutes with you." He could tell she was still skeptical so he carefully hugged her as gently as he could. Usagi slowly relaxed in his arms and hugged him back. "How are we going to get out of here Mamo-chan?"

Mamoru pulled back to look at her, leaving his hands loosely at her sides. "I don't know, but we'll have to find a way."

Usagi nodded and looked down at her hands. "I'm so stupid Mamo-chan."

Mamoru used two of his fingers to lift her chin so that she'd look at him. "You're not stupid. I love you Usako."

Usagi shook her head. "I didn't even know the difference between the man that I love and some stranger."

"He had my appearance Usako, it's not your fault. Now, tell me about the last two months. How did your parents take the news of your pregnancy?"

Usagi took a deep breath. "Well, I was actually most scared of telling you, but then I couldn't find you. You were never home and you never answered your phone. I knew something happened but no one believed me. I finally went to your apartment and broke the door down. It was obvious you hadn't been there for a while. Your messages were piled up including one about your not being in school, which I knew wasn't like you. I was so happy that night to have proof for my friends. But then you, or really he, left this message on my machine about the baby not being yours. My parents heard it and that's actually how they found out."

"Oh my God, Usako, I'm so sorry. Did your dad freak out?"

"I don't know. I just wasn't even concerned about them. My mind was always on you. I told my mom the truth about Sailor Moon and everything but she thought I was just making up a story. I guess my dad was avoiding me." Usagi studied her fingers, which were intertwined with his. "Mamo-chan, you'll love the baby won't you? Even if it's not really yours?" He wasn't answering too quickly so she looked up at him and realized that he'd been waiting for her to look at him.

"Of course I will Usako. It'll still be *our* baby, okay?"

Usagi nodded and kissed him, but they were interrupted when Koeda came to the door. "Time's up. Give me the key and come on." Mamoru sighed and stood up, handing the key to Koeda and then leaving. Koeda turned back to Usagi before he left. "Your dinner is coming soon." With that he shut the door, leaving Usagi with such a mixture of fear, anger and confusion that she felt like she'd be crying for the rest of her life. She tried the very hardest she could to resist breaking down again, but it did no good. She started sobbing again within minutes.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Desperately Alone

Part 4

By Tisha

Rated PG-13

Minako drummed on her desk with her pencil eraser, thinking contentedly about Usagi and how they'd go about finding her. Of all the times for Usagi to be kidnapped, why did she have to be pregnant when it happened? Now there were so many people involved.

"Minako!" The teacher's aggravated voice finally broke through her thoughts.

"Oh- yes?"

"I said 'have you seen Usagi lately?' She hasn't been to school all week."

Minako had no idea what to say. She glanced at Makoto before shrugging. "Um, well, I think I might have seen her, or talked to her, at least once, I don't really remember, we've both been busy I think."

The teacher looked at her a moment longer and then continued to take roll. Minako exhaled deeply and sent another worried glance at Makoto. She sat impatiently through class until the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch. Minako sighed and headed out with Makoto. They met up with Ami who had her computer, which she had disguised as a personal organizer, instead of her normal "lunch homework." As soon as they'd all sat down Minako spoke up. "We're going to have to tell Usagi's teachers something." She stated. "And have you gotten anything yet Ami?"

Ami shook her head without looking up. Minako suddenly realized that Ami hadn't looked at her at all today and now that she looked closer Ami didn't look quite herself. "Ami?" She finally looked up at her and Minako could see that her eyes were dark and puffy. "Have you been getting any sleep?"

"Well, I've been trying really hard to match the prints. There's always time for sleeping later."

"Have you had any luck at all?" Makoto asked.

Ami sighed deeply and looked at Makoto. "Not only have I not got anything, but I don't think there's anything more I can do."

They both looked at her with dread. There was always the fear about this somewhere in their heads but it just seemed like they always managed to get out of these things somehow.

"I think we just have to wait for whoever did this to make some mistake. Show himself again, you know?" Ami added, although she definitely didn't look too confident in her own statement. If Ami wasn't even sure, the rest of them didn't feel very confident either.

•••••••••••••••••••

Mamoru looked forward to his ten minute visits every single day. All twenty-four hours of every day were spent alone in his cage, waiting for his time to visit Usagi. Koeda never seemed happy about letting him out but he still continued to do so. Mamoru's threat had really worked. But Mamoru didn't believe that the ten-minute visits were even enough to keep Usagi from being stressed. Koeda appeared and Mamoru stood up, knowing it was time for his visit. Koeda scowled at him while he unlocked the cage, but he didn't say a word.

Mamoru went to her room and knocked three times before unlocking the door, as he always did. It was how she knew it was going to be him and not Koeda. He found her sitting on her bed, pretty much the only thing she had to do in her room. She smiled at him as he came in, kissed her, and sat next to her. "How are you?"

"Bored." She sighed, "I have nothing to do but sit here and daydream."

"Usako, I need to ask you something. Do you get enough to eat? You're eating for two people now and I know how much you ate even before that."

Usagi half-laughed. "Yeah I get plenty, really." She looked at him before wondering why he asked. "Why? Do you get enough?"

Mamoru shrugged. "A sandwich and a bottle of water each day." Her mouth dropped open and he quickly added, "It's you who needs food though, Usako. Don't worry about me."

Usagi drew in a shuddering breath. "When are we going to get out of here? I don't see anything either of us can do but it seems like the senshi aren't having much luck either."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying being together. "I wonder what my parents must think about me being missing all this time. They probably think I ran off to be with you or something."

"They might have asked one of your friends for an explanation, although I don't know what they would have said."

Usagi nodded and laid her head on his shoulder. "Are you worried about getting kicked out of school?"

"I don't know. I guess I can always find some way to go somewhere else. As long as the three of us can get out of here safely it doesn't even matter."

"You're the best Mamo-chan. I love you."

Mamoru looked at his watch and sighed. "I love you too. Unfortunately I have to go. Sleep well." He kissed her on the forehead and on her slightly rounding belly before letting himself out. Usagi felt like she went through Mamoru withdrawal every day after he left her room. She sighed and laid back on her bed, thinking about baby names.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi woke up with a jolt when the door was suddenly and loudly opened. She wearily blinked her eyes several times before making out Koeda's form standing above her. "Get up." He stated simply and harshly. Usagi struggled to get herself awake enough to think clearly as she slowly sat up in bed and swung her legs off the side of the bed. "Why? What's going on?"

"Follow me." He said as he walked out of the room and down the hall. Usagi did as she was told, following him to a part of this place where she'd never been before. He opened a door and stood outside, waiting for her to enter. She did so and then stopped and had to swallow hard as she took in her surroundings. It was a room that looked just like a doctor's office. There was a metal table, a counter with a sink, and a little tray with some syringes on it. She shook her head and turned around. "Please don't do this!"

Koeda laughed and locked the door. "This is the whole reason you're here. Sit." He commanded her like a dog as he quickly pointed to the table. She could feel her hands starting to shake and a very queasy feeling sneaking into her stomach as she slid herself onto the cold table. Koeda was messing around with little bottles and needles and things Usagi didn't want to think about. She put a hand on her stomach protectively and tried to imagine the tiny little baby growing there. She couldn't stand the thought of it getting hurt, but she had no idea how to escape this.

He suddenly turned to her and smiled. "Now, in just a few months I'll be able to take all of the power out of this baby. I'll be very powerful." He put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back into a lying position. Usagi bit her lip to keep from crying. She could feel her heart racing. "Please. There have to be other ways to get your power. It's just a helpless baby."

Koeda looked her in the eyes as he picked up a syringe. "Exactly the point."

Usagi watched him pull her shirt up slightly and dab some alcohol on her stomach. She could feel tears starting to sting her eyes. She had to look away as he actually brought the needle to her stomach and she felt it pierce her skin. She tried not to imagine what it was really doing. She wanted to believe it was just a normal shot she would get from her real doctor, but deep down she knew that it was having some awful affect on her baby.

"All done." Koeda suddenly said as he set down the syringe and went to wash his hands. Usagi slowly sat up. "That wasn't so bad was it?"

Usagi didn't answer him. She just continued to glare at him, trying to keep her tears from spilling over. "Can I go?"

Koeda looked at her before walking over to the door and unlocking it. He stepped out first and waited for her to exit and walk in front of him. She walked back to her room as quickly as she could and tried to open it but it was locked so she sighed and turned to Koeda. "I better warn you. That injection might have a side effects for you too."

"What?" Usagi looked at him, wanting a little more information than that, but he looked completely finished with the statement so she entered the door he had unlocked and listened as he locked it again behind her. When she was finally safely locked in her own room she let her tears fall.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Desperately Alone

Part 5

By Tisha

Mamoru gave his usual knock and unlocked Usagi's door. She was lying on the bed and she propped herself up on her elbows when she saw him enter.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, taking in her pale features.

Usagi nodded. "I guess so. I feel a little dizzy I guess. Koeda gave me the first injection today. He said it has side effects for me, so I guess this is what he meant."

Mamoru looked at her. He hated to think that he had to sit around and let Koeda hurt her and he wasn't able to do anything about it.

Usagi opened a drawer on her bedside table and pulled out a few slices of toast and handed them to Mamoru.

"What's this?"

"You don't get enough to eat. Eat it."

Mamoru shook his head. "You need food much more than I do. I don't want you saving food for me."

"Please Mamo-chan. I get plenty. I really want you to have it."

Mamoru sighed but still hesitated so she insisted further. "Mamo-chan, if you don't eat it I won't either and I know you want it."

Mamoru laughed. "You're so stubborn." He put the toast in his pocket. "I'll eat it later." He looked her over, hating the way she looked sick and exhausted. "You're gorgeous."

Usagi smiled sweetly. "I feel like I look horrible. But, uh, I've been thinking. If we- I mean when we get out of here, what are we going to do? I was definitely not planning on having a baby so soon. I mean I have lots of High School left and you haven't finished your schooling either. I'm only 16."

Mamoru nodded. "I'm not quite sure what we'll do. We have to talk it over carefully, but I think we'll have to get your parents' opinions as well. Whatever happens, I'll support you both. Everything will work out. But I don't want you to be stressing about stuff like that, okay?" He took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it.

Usagi smiled and nodded in response. There was a harsh knock on the door and Koeda opened it. "Time is up. Go over your time again and these little visits will no longer exist."

Mamoru sighed and followed Koeda out the door, turning one last time toward Usagi to mouth the words 'I love you'.

•••••••••••••••••••

"Ikuko!" Kenji called out for the third time. She still didn't answer. Her car was outside so she had to be home. He went toward the only place he figured she could be- Usagi's room. Sure enough, there she was- sitting on the bed and looking at a framed photograph. "Ikuko, what are you doing?"

Ikuko just shook her head and shrugged. Kenji sat next to her and looked at the picture. It was of Usagi with Mamoru. Ikuko looked at her husband. "I wish I had believed her. The last time she saw me I told her to grow up and all sorts of other things. I hate to think that she's all alone and pregnant and scared."

Kenji sighed and took the picture from her hands. "First of all,I'm guessing she's not quite as scared as we imagine considering that she's Sailor Moon and she's faced things so much worse. And second of all- I hate to admit it- but most likely Mamoru is with her, and he can comfort her."

Ikuko looked at him. "You're okay with him all of a sudden?"

"Well, not particularly. I still can't stand thinking that he got her pregnant in the first place, knowing she was much younger than him and all. But I must admit that I know they love each other, and I know it has to be a support for her to have him there."

Ikuko smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear you say it."

•••••••••••••••••••

Rei stared at her homework paper but didn't really see it. She found herself always consumed in thinking about Usagi and the baby and what they were going to do. Ami, Makoto and Minako were all over at her house to study since they had all been falling behind in class. She glanced up at them and they all seemed as distracted as she was. She sighed and set her pen down. "It's been a month. Ami, how could you get nothing from the prints? You were so sure of it at first."

Ami looked at her and swallowed hard. "I'm sorry. I've really tried but they don't match anything. I keep thinking about it. We thought he might have used Mamoru's appearance, right? But all we really know is that he at least used his voice. Either way, he could probably disguise his fingerprints somehow. Besides, if he's not even human, it would make sense that I couldn't match them."

"I still don't get why he wants them both." Minako spoke up. "So maybe he wants her baby- wouldn't he wait for it to be born or get a little older first? And what will he do with a powerful child anyway?"

"The problem with all of our information is that it's just all theory. We have no idea what really happened or even if they're still alive." Makoto stated, causing everyone in the room to fall silent. No one had wanted to make that point, even though it was a fear that all of them had.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi sighed as she climbed in the shower and savored the feel of the hot water. The side effects were constantly affecting her and she was often too weak to even get out of bed anymore. So when she had the strength to get up she used every minute of it. Mamoru had told her to walk in place or do some kind of exercise whenever she was up to it because it wasn't good for her to sit around in her room. Plus between morning sickness and side effects she felt like she was always throwing up.

She looked down at her pregnant stomach and put both of her hands on the bump, still amazed that there could be life in there. She was five months pregnant now. She hated thinking about how fast nine months was going by because at the end of that time Koeda would try to take her baby. Usagi realized she'd been standing there like that for quite a while so she finished the shower and stepped out just as she heard Mamoru's knock. She threw on her bathrobe and went into the bedroom to see him.

Mamoru came to hug and kiss her. "Feeling better today?" He asked while running his fingers through her wet hair.

Usagi shrugged and sat down. "Maybe a little."

Mamoru studied her. She was always looking very pale and she always had dark circles under her eyes. She'd told him before that it was hard to sleep because she had tons of dreams about the baby and what Koeda was doing to it. He sat next to her, putting one arm around her waist and the other he rested on her stomach. He pulled her closer and Usagi laid her head on his shoulder, knowing he would have to leave again any minute.

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Desperately Alone

Part 6

By Tisha

At around the time Usagi was seven months pregnant the injections didn't seem to have many side effects on her anymore. Instead she could more feel it actually affecting her baby. She didn't even know how she knew it, but somehow she could feel that the baby was definitely being hurt. She had sat in her room for months thinking of ways to get out. Now that she was only less than two weeks away from her due date she had finally come up with something, although it wasn't much. But she knew that if she had her baby in this place it would die so she had to get out. Mamoru had been skeptical about her plan, but he told her to give it a try anyway.

She was going to convince Koeda that she and the baby needed to get some fresh air. The baby was the only thing he cared about so she hoped it would work. Once she got to go outside hopefully she could somehow make contact with her friends. It was not likely at all but it was the only plan she had been able to formulate so she had to try it. It took her a while to work Koeda around to accepting the idea of taking her outdoors. When he finally agreed he refused to take her to Tokyo, so instead they went to a park just outside of the city. Usagi tried her best to enjoy the fresh air- she actually had been growing claustrophobic being indoors so long- but she was still anxious about getting this plan to work.

She tried to stay away from him, not wanting to have to talk to him or act civil towards him. Being outside really made her miss her freedom and all of her family and friends even more than she did every day already. Just as Koeda was getting aggravated and saying that they had to head back, she saw Ami across the street. She hoped her friend would notice her but she had to try to not look in that direction so that Koeda wouldn't notice. She slowly followed Koeda as he headed from the park and when she'd managed to fall a few steps behind him she glanced back and her heart skipped a beat when she saw that Ami was standing and watching her.

Usagi quickly nodded at her friend, hoping she would do something- *anything*- from that point. Usagi caught back up to Koeda and was pleased to see that he hadn't noticed any of it. She didn't risk looking back again, but she just had to hope that Ami would be able to do something to help. As she was locked back in her room she finally had hope for herself and most of all for her baby's life.

•••••••••••••••••••

Mamoru was very relieved to hear that Usagi's plan had actually gotten them somewhere. Now sitting and waiting for their rescue was harder than anything else. Mamoru spent his visit to Usagi's room with both hands on her stomach, feeling the movement inside. He couldn't imagine loving the baby any more than he did, even though it wasn't really his. Maybe it was the fact that he'd only been able to see Usagi for ten minutes a day and that those visits were very treasured. And for the past few months he would love to just feel the baby alive inside of Usagi, although he was very worried about both of their health.

•••••••••••••••••••

"I think I had completely lost hope." Makoto admitted after Ami had gathered everyone to tell them of her discovery.

"Well it's not like we have much time. Usagi was huge. She must be due any day now."

Rei was deep in thought. She still couldn't comprehend how Usagi had been gone for so long and today by some miracle they had located her. "So she was just with some guy- most likely her kidnapper- and that was it?"

"Yeah. When she saw me she just nodded at me and kept walking. I don't exactly understand everything myself. But now that we know where he is keeping them, we have to do something, and soon."

Everyone nodded. Luna studied them all. "Are you girls up to a battle?"

Minako sighed and shrugged. "I guess we have to be, right? We need to get Usagi back. It has been quite a while, and we might be a bit rusty, but we have to try."

Makoto nodded. "We're going to do more than try, we're going to succeed."

•••••••••••••••••••

Koeda unlocked the door to Mamoru's cage, handed Mamoru the key to Usagi's room and turned away to something he was working on. Mamoru headed to Usagi's room quickly, wanting to be able to spend all the time he had, but then the door down the hall was suddenly blown open and Mamoru stopped dead to see the four sailor senshi come in. Koeda ran past Mamoru to see what was happening and Mamoru snapped out of it and unlocked Usagi's door. "Usako." He called inside the door softly but urgently. Usagi went to the door and looked down the hall to see what was happening.

The senshi had spotted Mamoru as soon as they were inside the door, which had answered their questions as to whether or not he was with Usagi and whether or not he was even alive. And then they had also seen Usagi exit her room and all four of them faced Koeda and took their battle stances. Koeda looked totally stunned that they had managed to find him, especially when his plan was so close to becoming reality. "*How* did you people find me?"

"Your little walk in the park the other day was a pretty stupid decision." Mars answered. Koeda turned to glare at Usagi before turning back to the senshi. Mamoru stepped in front of Usagi, discouraged that Koeda was between them and the exit.

Koeda started to concentrate his power, obviously trying to get enough power to cause some damage, but luckily it seemed to take him lots of time and lots of concentration. While he had his eyes closed, concentrating on the creation of a power ball, the senshi had a perfect opportunity to attack him.

"Flame Sniper!" The attack hit Koeda dead on, causing him to lose his concentration. He growled at them and started over again at trying to create an attack.

"Venus love and beauty shock!"

"Jupiter oak evolution!"

Jupiter and Venus double attacked him and he was thrown to the floor. He blinked his eyes repeatedly, obviously caught off guard. He was struggling to stand up when Usagi suddenly cried out. Everyone turned to her in surprise. She was breathing heavily and holding her stomach. "I think I'm in labor." She said to Mamoru just above a whisper. Koeda looked at her with his eyes large and he tried harder to get his shaky legs to hold him.

"Shabon spray!" Mercury called out, filling the hallway with thick fog. "Mamoru, get her to a hospital!"

Mamoru took Usagi's hand and tried his best to guide her toward the exit on the side of the hallway where the senshi had been. He managed to make it there and him and Usagi wished the senshi luck before heading to the hospital.

The fog started to dissipate and the senshi exchanged looks. "Let's get this over with so we can go to the hospital."

Koeda had finally gotten enough strength to stand up and he looked furious that Usagi had escaped. He suddenly hurled an energy ball at Mars. She jumped just in time to miss it but it still grazed her leg. It was painful to continue to stand on it but she bit her lip and stood on it anyway. Koeda threw another energy ball and everyone managed to dodge it. They all wondered how he was suddenly producing these attacks when it had taken so much energy before.

"Jupiter oak evolution!" Jupiter's attack managed to knock him off of his feet once again and the other three girls used the chance to attack him while he was down.

"Mars flame sniper!"

"Venus love and beauty shock!"

"Aqua rhapsody!"

The barrage of attacks was enough to knock Koeda out. Mercury went to feel for a pulse and found none. The four of them untransformed and headed to the hospital.

•••••••••••••••••••

Ami, Rei, Makoto and Minako got to the nearest hospital as fast as they could. They were directed to the maternity ward and once there the nurse gave them the number to Usagi's room, but she said they couldn't go in. Discouraged, they all went to sit in the waiting room and they found that Usagi's parents were there also. "What's going on?"

Ikuko sighed sadly. "Last I heard they had to do an emergency cesarean section because the baby was breached. Mamoru is going to tell us when it's over."

They waited about fifteen minutes until they finally saw Mamoru. Everyone stood up, wanting to know everything. "It's a boy. He's only four pounds and he is having trouble breathing on his own."

"Why? How is he so small? He's not early is he?"

"It's probably because of the injections Koeda was giving her. He wanted to weaken the baby so that he could take its powers." Mamoru suddenly realized that Usagi's parents were present but they didn't seem to be reacting strangely to what he had said so he figured they knew.

"How's Usagi?" Ikuko wanted to know.

"They had to clean her up and then they'll let you in to see her. Emotionally, she's not so good." He stood there silently for a minute before saying "I'd better be going back in with her now." Everyone nodded and let him go. Usagi was cleaned up but she was crying. "Mamo-chan, they won't let me see him. I'm scared."

Mamoru pulled a chair up to the bed and sat down. "I know, I am too. But at least we got out of there just in time."

Usagi nodded, wiping at her wet eyes. "Is everyone here?"

Mamoru nodded. "Do you want me to get them?" She nodded again and Mamoru headed back to the waiting room to tell them that they could come in. The small room got quite crowded with all seven visitors, but Usagi was happy to see everyone.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you Usagi. Your friends told me everything." Ikuko told her.

Usagi smiled. "I understand. I guess you never expect your daughter to tell you she's Sailor Moon."

Ikuko reached for her hand and squeezed it. "I think you'll be a great mother."

Usagi looked at Mamoru and bit her lip, hoping that she would get a chance to be a mother. Everyone was silent for a minute and then the nurse came in with a clipboard. "Do you know what you're naming your baby?"

Usagi looked at Mamoru again. She had thought of many names for both boys and girls in all the time she was locked up. She and Mamoru often discussed them on their daily visits. They had finally decided that Mamoru could name it if it was a boy and Usagi could name it if it was a girl. Mamoru sighed before answering "Tokashi." It had been his grandfather's name.

The nurse nodded and wrote it down. "And the father's name?" She looked expectantly at Mamoru, who looked at Usagi. Usagi was certainly not going to put Koeda's name on her baby's birth certificate, so she said "Mamoru Chiba." The nurse wrote it down and nodded. "Very good." With that she headed for the door.

"Wait." Usagi said, stopping the nurse, who turned with her eyebrows raised in question. "When can I see him?"

The nurse looked at her clipboard again. "I'll get someone to bring in a wheelchair. You and the father can go and see him, but nobody else."

Usagi nodded, glad that she'd at least get to see her baby more than the glimpse she got when they had first whisked him away. She was kind of afraid of seeing him looking so small and sick but she knew she had to be able to be near her baby.

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Desperately Alone

Part 7

By Tisha

Two days after Tokashi was born, Usagi was allowed to go home. Tokashi, however, had to stay in the hospital in the little incubator-type device that kept him alive by feeding him and helping him breathe. Not only was it very hard for Usagi to go home without her baby, but it was also very weird. For seven months she'd been held captive in a plain, boring room with nothing to do but look forward to Mamoru's ten-minute visits. Now she was back in her own room, which seemed suddenly immature to her. She felt too old to have bunnies decorating her room. It was also strange to live at home knowing that Mamoru was back at his apartment across town, and not just across the hall.

It was very hard for Usagi to keep herself busy each day, and she'd spend at least half the day at the hospital, simply sitting and watching her tiny baby. An entire week had passed and Tokashi's health had not improved. He hadn't even gained any weight, even though the doctor said that the way they were caring for him should give him a little more weight quickly. So Usagi tried not to think about the possibility of not having her baby anymore and she just tried to do happy things, like making a baby book. She was working on writing a caption beneath one of the pictures when her mom knocked on her door.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Working on Tokashi's baby book." Usagi stated as she finished her sentence and replaced the pen's cap. "Want to see?"

Ikuko nodded and sat next to Usagi, taking the book from her hands and starting at the beginning. There wasn't much there altogether, just a page about being pregnant-even though she had left out the part about being kidnapped- and a few pictures. Ikuko wasn't able to get out any words because she felt like she would cry if she tried. It was terrible to have your grandson being so sick and to also see your daughter suffer through it.

"Mom, what if I never get a chance to add to it?"

Ikuko shook her head, trying to keep from letting her tears escape. "I don't know. But if anything should happen- God forbid- I'm sure you'll get to start another baby book someday."

"That still doesn't help." Usagi sighed and looked at the pictures in the open baby book. "I think I'll go to the hospital for a while."

Ikuko nodded. "Do you want me to take you?"

"No, I think I'll call Mamo-chan."

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi and Mamoru usually went to the hospital together, except for when Mamoru was at school and then Usagi would come with her mom. Mamoru had managed to get back into school but he had to repeat his courses. Usagi was planning to go back to school, but she wasn't sure when. Whenever she did return, she would have to either take summer school or repeat a year, which she didn't want to do because she wouldn't be with her friends.

At the hospital there was one room for the preemies and it was quite small. Usagi hated the room itself because it was plain and it always smelled strongly of medicine and antiseptic. There were only two other babies in the room with Tokashi, and Usagi had seen the parents in there quite often. One of the babies was a girl who had been in that room for over a month. She was doing really well and her parents were a couple in their mid-thirties who had been trying for children for years. The other baby was a boy who was just a little bigger than Tokashi. His mother was even younger than Usagi was, but Usagi had never really spoken to her. She hadn't ever seen a father there either.

Usagi and Mamoru would always pull up some of the uncomfortable metal chairs and just sit there looking at the baby, taking note of his every tiny movement. The nurses often came through to check statis and sometimes when the nurses came in they would let Usagi or Mamoru touch him through a little hole in the side. One time Usagi had reached in and his tiny fingers had curled around her pinky. Usagi had immediately burst into tears.

Usagi sighed as she looked at his tiny, sleeping form. "It's hard to believe he's only a week old. It seems like it's been so much longer."

Mamoru only nodded, holding one of Usagi's hands while she held the other on the plastic of the incubator he was in, moving her fingers slightly as if she was actually touching his skin.

"He looks just like you." Usagi added with a smile, taking in the baby's dark features. She didn't often see him with his eyes opened but she knew that they were big round circles, as black as the night. Minutes of silence passed as they simply sat watching their baby and dreaming about what it would be like if they were able to really hold him and play with him. Suddenly there was a beeping noise and Usagi pulled her hand back, wondering what was going on. And then the nurses and doctors came in and rolled him away so that they all surrounded him and Usagi and Mamoru couldn't even see. "What's going on?" Mamoru asked them as both he and Usagi stood up.

"Please go to the waiting room." One of the nurses turned to tell them.

Usagi shook her head. "No, I want to stay here."

"You're going to be in the way. We need you to go to the waiting room." She repeated, this time moving forward to shoo Usagi out of the room.

As soon as they were out Usagi looked at Mamoru, fear evident in her eyes. "What's happening?"

"I don't know." He pulled her near him and they walked slowly to the waiting room, neither being able to wait patiently. Mamoru paced while Usagi stood, leaning against a wall and chewing on one of her nails. It was about fifteen minutes before the doctor came out. Mamoru immediately stopped his pacing and went over to Usagi, holding tightly onto one of her hands. The doctor's face gave nothing away, but he didn't start speaking until they were both standing there together, holding hands for support.

"I'm very sorry," He began, but Usagi didn't want to hear any more. She buried her face in Mamoru's side and tried to suppress the sobs she could already feel coming on. The doctor looked at her and then just turned his complete attention toward Mamoru and continued. "His heart stopped beating. We did everything we could but we couldn't start it again. He was very small and very weak; it was a long shot from the beginning. You should be happy you got to spend the week with him."

Usagi shook her head against Mamoru as the words repeated themselves in her ears. She heard the doctor walking away and she no longer tried to suppress the tears. A large sob escaped from deep in her throat and Mamoru turned fully toward her and wrapped his arms around her.

•••••••••••••••••••

From then on life was kind of like a dream to Usagi, or rather, a nightmare. It felt like nothing was ordinary, or maybe it was just that everything was just *too* ordinary compared to the last nine months. Either way, she couldn't go a whole minute without thinking of Tokashi and the way the doctor had said it would have been a long shot for him to live. Wasn't that a rude thing for him to say? The entire week of Tokashi's life they had tried to make her believe it was good that he was still holding on to life and that he was showing hope. But now she knew they were lying to her. The whole time they knew he would probably die.

She couldn't get herself to go back to school yet, either. So she stayed home every day with not much at all to do. During the day her mom would try to cheer her up and later on her friends and Mamoru and even her dad tried to cheer her up, but it never really worked. She really wanted to be able to move on and have fun with her friends like before but it was still just such an odd concept to hang out with her friends a mere month after giving birth. She felt like she should be feeding a baby instead.

Mamoru had tried to do anything and everything to cheer her up but nothing seemed to work. He finally had an idea he thought might work, but it wasn't going to be easy. He knocked on the door to the Tsukino residence and waited. Eventually Ikuko opened the door. "Oh, hi Mamoru, I didn't know you were coming over. Did you and Usagi have plans?"

"No, actually I came hoping I could speak to Mr. Tsukino."

Ikuko nodded and invited him. "I think he's in the living room."

Mamoru thanked her and headed toward the living room, finding Usagi's dad on the couch reading the newspaper. Mamoru simply cleared his throat to get his attention. He looked up and then looked surprised to see Mamoru there.

"Mamoru, what are you doing here?"

Mamoru took the liberty of sitting on the loveseat adjacent to the couch Kenji was on. "I wanted to speak with you."

Kenji nodded. "About Usagi?" Mamoru nodded, not knowing if he should say anything in response to that. But Kenji continued. "I have so say, Mamoru, that I never used to like you."

Mamoru smirked a little. "Does that mean you like me now?"

Kenji smiled. "Well I like you more than I did, that's for sure. I guess it was because of your age difference. I hated the thought of her with you. But everything changed when I found out about your secret identities. It was like a comfort to learn that you had been protecting her from all of these evils for these past two years."

Mamoru nodded. "I love her. I'd do anything for her."

"I don't doubt that you do love her. I did, however, doubt your respect for her. After she got pregnant it was like I started feeling more open to the idea of her dating you, but at the same time the idea that you'd gotten her pregnant in the first place infuriated me. But now I know the truth, and I respect that you *have* had respect for her."

Mamoru was silent for a second, wondering why Kenji was doing so much talking when it was him who came to explain himself. He also hadn't been sure whether Usagi told her parents about him not being the real father. He had rehearsed what he had to say a million times in his mind, but now it no longer seemed appropriate with the way the conversation was going. He finally took a deep breath and started into at least some of what he had planned to say.

"Well, I came here to convince you that I love Usagi, but apparently you don't have any argument to that. And I'm sure you already know that she loves me too. I'm not sure if she's told you this- but we've seen our past lives as well as our futures. Our destiny is to be together. So, I would like your permission to ask her to marry me."

Kenji smiled, knowing that this had been coming. He'd thought about it a lot recently and he decided that he was ready to let Usagi go. She was in a place in her young life where she was already very independent and now he knew that marrying Mamoru would be a great ease to her pain. He finally sighed and answered. "It's perfectly all right with me, on one condition." Mamoru's eyebrows were raised, waiting to hear this condition. "You can propose to her whenever you'd like, but I don't want you to get married until after she's eighteen. I want these last few months that I have left with her."

Mamoru nodded and smiled, amazed that it had actually been so easy. He'd been prepared to argue if he had said no. "That won't be a problem. Thank you." He stood up and offered his hand to Kenji.

Kenji stood as well and shook his hand, but then he surprised Mamoru by hugging him. It was just a quick, professional-like hug, but it was a hug none-the-less. "I really appreciate that you asked me before you asked her."

Mamoru nodded and said goodbye, letting himself out. He really would have liked to stay and see Usagi but he figured he had the rest of his life to see her, and he had some ring shopping to do anyway.

•••••••••••••••••••

Three Years Later-

Mamoru and Usagi stepped out of the hospital doors holding hands and headed to their car. "How about we go out for lunch?" Mamoru asked.

"Sounds great. I feel like some Mexican food."

Mamoru smiled. Her pregnancy seemed to have her craving spicy, rich foods, so they'd been eating a lot of Mexican. They both got in the car and Mamoru had to help Usagi get the seatbelt around her pregnant stomach. She smiled at him. "Can you believe it?"

Mamoru started the car and then glanced at her. "Believe what?"

"That we're going to have twins. It's amazing." She thought back on the loss of her first baby. It had been very tragic but now it was like God was making up for it. She still thought about Tokashi every day, but she was glad that she had been able to finish high school before this pregnancy. She and Mamoru had gotten married the summer after they lost Tokashi, just after Usagi turned 18. She'd had to work very hard to make up the year she'd missed at school, but since she was married to Mamoru he would help her study a lot. She had actually ended up getting pretty good grades.

"So, how many more do you think we should have after these two?"

Usagi laughed. "Well, the first time I had one, and this time I'm having two. I wonder if that means that the next pregnancy will be triplets. That would definitely be interesting. But whatever does happen, I'll love them all."

The End.


End file.
